When It Rains, It Pours

by Cassidy Lawson@cassidylawson

Happy October everyone! How
is everyone’s semester going? Here at JMU, it’s been a little wet, misty and
dreary to say the least. I’m sure all of you have heard about the Category 4 Hurricane
Joaquin that is steadily approaching the East Coast these past couple of days.
It’s basically been raining in Virginia since last Friday and hasn’t stopped
since. Today, the Virginia Governor sent out an email to all state employees
saying the Commonwealth of Virginia is in a state of emergency… which is a
problem since this weekend is Family Weekend. Most of the outdoor events have
already been cancelled, except the Football Game. It’s just not a good time for
this to be happening (not that there’s ever a good time but still).

In addition to the
approaching weather, we also had a crazy flash flood on our campus this past
Tuesday. Tuesday was my office’s Career Fair on East Campus, so I didn’t
witness any of the flooding, but it was massive. I’m including some pictures
for context. I literally couldn’t believe it when I saw my campus was
underwater…there have been so many pictures, videos, and hashtags about Tuesday
that JMU has made national news once again. During the flooding, some of our
students chose to partake in the flooding by going out and trying to swim,
kayak, and canoe in what used to be a parking lot. This is problematic because
of the danger and sanitary issues, but also because a few years ago, a student
attempted to do this when campus flooded and drowned. Our administrators are on
high alert right now since crazy weather usually means bizarre behaviors from
students. There have been multiple “Madison Alerts” about the weather and
safety tips for students this weekend. Our SGA sent out a statement to the JMU
students via their Facebook page about how upset they were with JMU
administrators for the lack of communication about the flooding. Our student
newspaper, The Breeze, did a whole front-page article about the flooding,
reporting that the city saw its monthly average of rainfall in just five days.

Has your campus ever
experienced any crazy weather patterns that affected the safety of your
students? How do your students respond to these events? Wish me luck this
weekend for more rain…it looks like it’s going to be another lazy weekend
tucked in with blankets, candles, and soup!